The Survivor
by McFreeky
Summary: Learn what helped shape the soldier Troy Shepard is today.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

First Lieutenant Troy Shepard watched as Staff Lieutenant Diaz paced in front of the platoon-sized group of marines standing at attention, scrutinizing each man and woman. He finally stopped in front of the group and addressed them.

"You marines have volunteered to find out what happened to the pioneer team on Akuze. It's probably just slavers or pirates, but I want you to be ready for anything. I'll be in command with First Lieutenant Shepard being my second. We will be leaving as soon as we get there, approximately 1700 local time tomorrow. Dismissed."

As the marines dispersed, Lt. Shepard walked up to Staff Lt. Diaz. "Permission to speak freely, sir."

"Granted, Lieutenant."

"I was under the impression that I would be leading this mission, sir."

"Well, you got the wrong impression" Diaz replied flatly.

"But most of these marines are from my platoon. I know their strengths and weaknesses. I-"

Diaz cut him off. "This is above your pay grade, _First_ Lieutenant. Besides, there are 50 or so marines. Individual strengths and weaknesses are not important to a group. How many do we have anyway?"

Shepard was barely able to keep his face from contorting in disgust. _Our CO hasn't even done his homework on the ground team._

"Including you, sir, there are 51 marines. Most are enlisted, 8 NCOs, and a 2nd Lieutenant who is an engineer."

"Didn't need the rundown, Lieutenant. You're dismissed."

Shepard saluted and walked away, scowling at the indifference the Staff Lieutenant showed.

He had volunteered for this job because it reminded him of Mindoir. Brass had lost contact with Akuze's pioneer team a few days ago. They had requested volunteers that would make an attempt to find them. Shepard was one of the first ones the list. When he told his platoon about the mission, many of them signed up as well.

Now, with Staff Lieutenant Diaz in charge, Shepard didn't know if signing up for this mission was such a good idea.


	2. Chapter 1  Ax to Grind

**Chapter 1: Ax to Grind**

"You okay, Lieutenant?"

Shepard's reverie was broken by one of the marines that was stuck with him in the shuttle heading toward Akuze. He had been looking at the schematics of the pioneer's colony, but was soon overcome by memories from Mindoir. Shepard realized that he had been staring at the map for almost ten minutes.

He looked at the soldier that had spoken up. He was one of the marines that had not come from Shepard's platoon. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking, Private…"

"Carmine," replied the marine.

"Pvt. Carmine. I'm just studying the map of the colony. I want to be as ready as possible." Shepard smiled at the marine.

Carmine nodded, accepting the answer. Shepard looked around the small shuttle that was carrying them to the planet's surface. It contained ten people, split into two teams. Even though 3/4ths of the volunteers were from the platoon he leads, Shepard only knew two of the marines on the shuttle, and they were assigned to another team.

When Staff Lieutenant Diaz assigned the 10 squads and squad leaders, it seemed to have been done randomly. This left Shepard with a squad that he had never worked with before. He had tried to study their files for the hour between squad assignments and departing, but he didn't feel nearly as ready as he wanted to be.

Shepard caught the eye of Corporal Toombs. Toombs had been in Shepard's platoon since he had been given the group. They had been through quite a few rough spots together and were fairly close. If anyone wanted to know anything about their commanding officer, Toombs was the best person to seek out.

Shepard saw Toombs stare him down. He knew the real reason Shepard had seemed out of it, and he knew that it should be discussed.

"What Lieutenant Shepard has failed to mention is that he was on Mindoir when it was attacked 7 years ago. Akuze sounds like it could have suffered the same fate. He wants to help out any way he can. Maybe to make up for what he couldn't do on-"

"That's enough, Corporal." Shepard's tone was level yet piercing.

"Sorry, sir," Toombs said apologetically.

No one dared to speak, but the Lt. found many of them staring at him, only to quickly look away when he made eye contact.

"You know he's right, sir," Pvt. Holt finally said. She was the other marine in the shuttle that came from Shepard's unit. "The reason most of the platoon joined this assignment is to keep you from doing something stupid, and they don't want you to go through this alone. You're the one that kept saying that you want our unit to be like a family. That's what family does."

"You should listen to Holt, sir. Women are smart that way," Toombs commented.

"That's probably the smartest thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth, Toombs," Shepard replied. Holt and a couple other marines laughed.

"Ha, ha, ha. Laugh it up guys." Toombs' hurt tone was betrayed by the smile on his face.

After the laughter quieted, Pvt. Carmine spoke up again.

"Why aren't you fully outfitted like the rest of us, Lieutenant?"

"I'm guessing you mean why don't I have a shotgun or assault rifle strapped to my back. I'm listed as an infiltrator class in the Alliance. I'm good with sniper rifles and tech and use pistols as a backup. While I'm trained to used assault rifles and shotguns, I find that they aren't precise enough for my liking. So, when I'm with a group, I tend to stick in the back, picking people off with my sniper and causing carnage with my tech while others fight closer. If I need to pull out my pistol, then I'm not doing my job right. Besides, not having those two guns on my back really lightens the load.

"Now a refresher on the mission since will be landing shortly. We are being dropped off on the northeast side of the colony. Staff Lieutenant Diaz wants us to stay outside the main colony until tomorrow so we will be investigating the outskirts looking for any signs of what might have happened here."

"That's bullshit…, sir," Toombs said. "We should be heading directly to the main colony and to the safe house."

The leader of the second squad on the shuttle, Operations Chief Miller, finally spoke. "Stow it, marine. This ain't no goddamn democracy. We follow orders."

"Chief Miller is right. Regardless of our personal feelings, we need to perform our assignment. We are part of a team here, people. We need to do our job so others can do theirs." Shepard continued. "After we are done searching our designated areas, we'll set up camp and wait until morning to finally move into the main colony at 0700. Everyone got that?"

A chorus of "Yes, sir," came from the group of marines.

"All right. My team is the first one disembarking. Chief Miller's team's drop off is also going to be the landing zone for this shuttle. Regroup there if anything happens."

Miller's fourth man called back from the pilot seat. "Approaching first drop zone. ETA 30 seconds."

"You heard the man, team. Suit up and get ready."

Lt. Shepard felt the slight vertigo caused by the motion dampers trying to stabilize the compartment as the shuttle descended and decelerated. As he got his helmet in place, he felt a thud come from underneath him as their craft finally landed. The side hatch opened, and Pvt. Carmine and another marine, Pvt. McNeil, hurried out the shuttle, weapons drawn, scanning for any enemies.

"All clear," Carmine said through the comm.

The rest of team disembarked. As the shuttle readied to take off, Shepard looked at both Toombs and Holt. He tapped into a private channel that his platoon used.

"See you on the other side."

He saw them nod to him as the door finally sealed shut, and the shuttle flew off to the second drop zone.

He turned back to his team and, on the squad channel, said, "Report."

"Area clear, sir. No sign of any hostiles," McNeil replied.

"No sign of anything," another soldier, Pvt. Garza, said. "If it wasn't for the prefabs I see over there, I would think that this entire place has never been touched."

"She's right, sir. This place seems eerily quiet for a planet that is supposed to be colonized. No sound of terraforming machines or anything," Corporal Thomas, the final member of Shepard's team, said.

"I agree. Let's take it nice and easy, people. Staggered formation. Pvt. Carmine, take point," Shepard commanded.

A chorus of "aye, aye's" sounded. The fire team readied their assault rifles as Shepard grabbed his sniper rifle and lined up in two rows. Carmine led them away from the drop zone and to the first of three farms they were tasked with checking out. As they moved toward the first prefab in the distance, Shepard opened a private channel with Cpl. Thomas.

"Corporal, have you ever worked with any of these marines before?"

Thomas turned to face the Lieutenant. "McNeil and I come from the same squad, and we have worked a few assignments in the past. I've never worked with Carmine or Garza."

Shepard grunted. "I don't like going into a fight without knowing my squad."

"I wouldn't either. Are you expecting a fight, sir?"

"Just want to be prepared for a fight. I would rather expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised instead of hoping for the best and be horribly disappointed. Maybe it's the marine in me."

Thomas nodded and turned back to watch his sector, leaving Shepard to his thoughts. He knew that it wasn't just the military training that kept him wanting to be prepared. Ever since Mindoir, Shepard had been relentless in studying military tactics and drills. He never wanted to be caught again in a situation that he didn't have some sort of plan or exit strategy to get his people out. He knew that it was impossible to account for every variable, but he could try.

Shepard made yearly trips back to Mindoir around the anniversary of the attack. While Scott, Amanda, Daily, and his parents were not as vocal as they once had been, he still felt comforted from each trip. Talking and spending time with them gave Shepard a sense of peace and support that the Alliance could not fulfill. He knew that they would always be with him.

"Lieutenant, the first farm is about 400 meters ahead," Carmine said from the front.

"Hold positions," Shepard commanded.

The five man squad knelt down, readied their weapons, and scanned their zones. Shepard signaled Cpl. Thomas to follow him to the front to examine the farm. He took out a pair of binoculars while Shepard looked through the scope of his sniper rifle. Thomas was the first to speak through the private line to Shepard.

"I don't see anything."

"I know. It's like all the pioneers just got up and left without a fight. No burns. No scorch marks. Not even bullet holes," Shepard replied.

"Something weird is going on here, sir. I don't like it."

"Neither do I. Still, we got a job to do." Shepard switched the frequency to address the entire fire team. "We are moving up, so stay alert. Garza, you take point."

Pvt. Garza slowly led the group towards the prefab. Once they reached it, Cpl. Thomas led Garza and McNeil into the home to clear it. After hearing each marine let out a "Clear!", Cpl. Thomas came out the front door. Shepard saw the amazement in his eyes.

"What is it, Corporal?"

"There's nothing."

"What?" Carmine asked.

"There is nothing in there. No signs of what happened. Nothing touched. It's like they just vanished into thin air."

"Maybe they went to the shelter when the raiders hit," Carmine offered.

"But the raiders would have tossed the place regardless, looking for anything of value," Shepard said. "This is a small settlement. They would have taken the time to check every house to get the most out of the raid."

"That's what I thought," Thomas replied.

"Garza, McNeil. Find anything?" Shepard said into his communicator.

"Nothing, sir. Just an ordinary prefab," Garza replied.

"All right. There's nothing here. Let's head to the second farm. McNeil's on point."

When they arrived at the second prefab, they found more of the same: no damage, no destruction, and no devastation. The only thing they found was an empty home.

"This is getting freaky," Carmine said.

"What's wrong, Carmine? Scared?" Garza taunted.

"No," Carmine said curtly.

"Leave him alone, Garza. He's right. This place is disturbing," Thomas said.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

Shepard knew a nervous tick when he saw one. Garza teased Carmine to get her mind off how unsettling the situation actually was. The only person who didn't seem affected by the situation was McNeil.

"McNeil, what do you think happened here?" Shepard asked him on a private line.

"Sir, I'm an enlisted marine. I don't get paid to think. I get paid to follow orders. Thinking is your job, sir," McNeil replied gruffly.

"Fair enough, Private." Shepard switched back to the squad channel. "Let's hope the last place will shed more light than this one did. Move out."

Shepard noticed Akuze's star dropping lower toward the horizon. Looking at his chrono, he realized they only had a few hours until sundown. They needed to get to the last farm and find out what the hell happened on this planet.


	3. Chapter 2  Full of Holes

**Chapter 2: Full of Holes**

The last farm was quite a distance away from their position. It took them more than an hour to reach it. It was, however, much closer to the main colony than the other two. Shepard could get a good view of the damage in the main colony from its position.

As the squad approached it from the rear, they didn't see any signs of what could have occurred. When McNeil, Carmine, and Thomas cleared the prefab, McNeil said something disconcerting.

"Lieutenant, you should come take a look at this."

"What is it, McNeil?" Shepard asked as he went into the house to find him.

"It's a hole, sir."

Shepard was confused on why a hole would be so intriguing that he would need to be called to check it out. When he found McNeil, Shepard understood why he had called him.

The hole was in the corner of the prefab that faced the main colony. It was about 4 meters in diameter with rough edges. Part of the roof was gone, and the hole reached almost to the floor. The most interesting characteristic was that the structure appeared to have been eaten away instead of blasted. Smaller holes dotted just outside the large opening.

Thomas and Carmine joined the two men.

"What the hell could have done that?" Carmine asked.

"It wasn't an explosive. There are no burn marks anywhere," Thomas pointed out.

Shepard looked at the floor under the hole, looking for any signs of what could have done the damage. He spotted more, smaller holes directly underneath the larger hole in the ceiling. He knew what had caused this.

"It was acid, a very powerful acid," he said.

"How can you tell?" Thomas asked.

"Look at the floor. Those little holes are from the acid that was able to eat through the prefab and landed here. And, like you said, there are no burn marks from plasma or molten material. But who would use acid? There are easier ways to get into buildings."

"Got blood here."

Shepard turned to see McNeil crouching down in the corner on the other side of the room.

"Carmine, you and Garza scout the surrounding area. We're going to be camping here tonight," Shepard commanding as he walked over to inspect the blood.

Carmine quickly left to get Garza as Shepard knelt down next to McNeil.

"It's old, really old by blood standards. I'm guessing the body must have been here a while before it moved though."

"Why do you say that, sir?" Thomas asked

"There is no blood trail leading away from this spot. Blood gets everywhere when you're moving a fresh body. All of it probably coagulated before this person was moved. That must have been hours later."

"Who would wait hours to move a body?"

"I have no idea, Corporal. This place just isn't making any sense."

Garza spoke over the com, braking his train of thought. "Sir, I have a crater here, about 4 meters in diameter."

"Where are you?" Shepard replied.

"Southwest part of the house."

Shepard realized that that was close to where the damage was. He peered out the hole and saw Garza and Carmine looking at a crater about 50 meters from the house.

Shepard turned to McNeil and Thomas. "You two search the rest of the house. Maybe there will be something, anything to help us figure out what is going on in this colony." He then jumped out the hole and walked toward the other two.

As Shepard closed, Carmine spoke up. "It looks like an impact crater, sir. I can't find anything that could have caused it though."

"That's not an impact crater. See how the ground is? It's loose and shifting. Impact craters make the ground hard and compacting from the force. This was a hole that got filled in."

"HA! I knew it. You owe me 50 credits," Garza said, punching Carmine in the shoulder.

"Damn it. I thought for sure it was an impact crater. But what could have made this?"

"No idea, Private. This is place is just one big mystery. Maybe Lt. Diaz will know more. Come on. We are going to set up for the night in the prefab."

When they made it back to the home, Thomas and McNeil reported that there was no evidence of anything that happened besides the room where they found the blood and hole in the wall. Shepard nodded at the two and said that everyone should find a comfortable place to bunker down for the night. He then went outside to contact Staff Lieutenant Diaz.

"Staff Lieutenant Diaz, come in."

"What do you want, First?" Diaz did not try to hide his disgust at the interruption.

"Sir, my squad has finished searching our designated areas. We found something interesting in one of the houses. It appears as though acid ate through the ceiling of the prefab."

"We saw some damage here too. Any evidence on the missing pioneer team's whereabouts?"

"No, sir. We did find a blood pool, but the body was gone. I have a bad feeling about this, sir. Who would use acid to eat into a house, and who would take bodies hours after they have died?"

"I don't give a damn what these monster's motivations were. I just want to find out what the hell happened. Diaz out."

Shepard was taken aback by the indifference of their commanding officer. Any information was better than absolutely no information. He didn't like how Diaz was running the show. It was going to get them all killed.

Shepard knew all he could do was keep his own squad alive long enough to get off this rock in one piece. He was going to do everything possible to make that a reality. Shepard walked back into the prefab and found most of his team lounging in the family room with their helmets off. McNeil was standing vigilant next to a window.

"Lieutenant, can you order McStiff over here to take a load off and relax?" Garza asked.

"Someone has to remain on watch," McNeil replied.

"He's right, Garza, but we will work that out into shifts. When you're time is up, you need to relax a little bit, McNeil. You can only stay alert so long before your senses start to dull."

"Yes, sir," McNeil replied.

Shepard placed his sniper rifle against the wall and sank into one of the open chairs. A soft hiss came from his neck as he released his seals on his helmet and placed it on the table with the rest of his squad, save McNeil's. Shepard then opened his omnitool to look for any reports from the other squads or any signals that could be picked up. He found nothing worth noting.

"LT, what happened on Mindoir?"

Shepard looked up to find Carmine staring at him closely, waiting for an answer. Before he could give one, Thomas jumped in.

"What the hell do you think you're asking, Private? That's none of your goddamn business."

"It's okay, Corporal. I don't mind answering questions about my past. On the shuttle, I just didn't want Toombs to make everyone worry about how fit I am for duty for this mission just before we landed. Now that we got some downtime, I can clear the air."

Shepard turned toward Carmine. "How old are you?"

"Twenty, sir."

"I can understand why you wouldn't know about it then; you were only seven at the time. Thirteen years ago, batarian slavers attacked the colony of Mindoir in the Attican Traverse. Out of the 3,000 people that lived in or around the colony, only a hundred lived after the attack. I was one of those 100."

"How did you make it?" Garza chimed in.

"With a lot of luck," was his only reply.

"What happened?" Carmine finally asked.

Shepard saw that Carmine, Garza, and Thomas were watching him intently, waiting for the answer. He even noticed McNeil glancing at him from time to time, eager to hear his response as well.

Shepard continued. "I was on the outskirts of the colony with a friend, my girlfriend, and my sister. We saw the attack on the colony, so we headed back to our house because it had a bunker we could hide in. We went through a forest to keep ourselves hidden from the shuttles that were heading to the farms.

"When we got to the edge of the forest, I left the rest of my group to clear the house. When I got back, my friend was dead, my sister was gone, and my girlfriend was bleeding out. As I was patching her up, she told me about how the batarians found them, and how my friend died trying to protect them. They took my sister to a house nearby. After I made sure she was all right, I went to go get my sister."

Shepard took a moment to hold back the tears that were forming at his eyes. He hadn't really talked about what happened on Mindoir much after the attack. It brought back memories of seeing Scott clutching at his neck, Daily getting her neck slashed, and Amanda bleeding from her wounded shoulder.

He soldiered on. "Shortly after I got there, my sister started attacking her captors with her biotics. While she was attacking one on the ground, the leader caught her by surprise and slit her throat. I stopped them from doing anything else to anyone else."

He let the meaning sink into his squad before continuing. "As I was leaving, a shuttle caught sight of me and followed me back to my girlfriend's position. I was able to stop them before they got too close. When I finally met up with my girlfriend hiding in the woods, I found that her wound reopened. She died in my arms. Half an hour later, the Alliance showed up to investigate the shuttle. They found me in the process."

Shepard saw awe and sympathy in their eyes. It's why he didn't like sharing his past.

"Did any of your family make it?" Garza asked.

"No," he said flatly.

"How old were you?" Thomas asked.

"Sixteen."

"Damn, sir. You did all that, and you were only 16? I would have folded up and cried if that kinda stuff happened to me," Carmine said.

"The slavers took enough from me that day. I wasn't about to give them the satisfaction of destroying me emotionally even though I survived physically. I wasn't about to let what happened define me. I owe too much to my friends and family to wallow in self-pity."

"You were right to stop Cpl. Toombs, sir. If I had heard this story before we landed, I would have questioned your ability to lead through this assignment. Now that I have heard you talk about it, I would prefer you leading this group than Diaz," Thomas said.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Thomas, but enough about me. I want to get to know about my squad. Carmine, you're up."

"Why am I first?" Carmine whined.

"Because you started this whole thing," Shepard answered with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Fine, fine. Well I grew up-"

It was two hours before the squad had to move out as Shepard started his watch. He saw Carmine lay down on the couch where he was to get some last bit of shut eye before the sun came up. Shepard stretched to let his cramped muscles uncoil and relax. He looked at his squad, glad that he got to meet such a fine group of marines.

Carmine grew up on Eden Prime, one of the first colonies that the humans had founded outside of the Sol system. The agrarian lifestyle didn't suit him as he wanted adventure and excitement. He enlisted in the Alliance as soon as he was able. In his two years of the service, he hadn't seen much action. It is why he volunteered for the Akuze trip, hoping to encounter something.

Garza was born on Earth, in one of the poorer parts of Mexico City. She had a difficult childhood, running with gangs and being sent to juvenile detention multiple times. When she was 17, she got caught stealing food from an Alliance base by three marines. In the fight that followed, she broke the nose of one and cracked multiple ribs of another before they were able to subdue her. The commanding officer saw her potential and offered her a choice, either serve in the Alliance after she turned 18 or go to jail for 20 years for stealing from the government. She chose to join and found her niche in the galaxy.

Thomas and McNeil both came from military families. After a lot of coaxing, McNeil finally told the squad that he grew up on a base in the Traverse which explained his calm and gruff personality. He was used to the discipline the military required so it was only fitting that he join when he was of age.

Thomas grew up on ships his entire life, being a son of a captain in the Second Fleet. He explained that his father was upset when he enlisted instead of going through the Academy, but Thomas didn't want to live under his shadow. Plus, he didn't believe that he had it in him to be a commissioned officer. Shepard told him otherwise.

Shepard found that he had lucked into a great squad. With more time to get to know each marine's presence in combat situations, he believed this squad could work as an effective team. Carmine's enthusiasm was balanced by McNeil's discipline, and Garza's boldness was a counterpoint to Thomas' leadership. Each attribute was needed to make a good team.

Shepard looked out the window toward the colony and brought up his omnitool to scan for anything that could shed some light on the situation. Finding nothing, he decided to tweak with his omnitool to pass the time. Shepard had just received an upgrade on it and hasn't been able to change the settings to his liking. Even though it was military hardware and software, he always found a way to make it work that much better.

After an hour and half, Shepard was able to reduce the recharge time of his tech abilities by 10% and reduce his shield recharge time by 14%. As he was looking over his improvements, a voice startled him.

"What's that in your hand, sir?"

Shepard looked over to see Thomas walking up to him. He then looked down to see his free hand playing with his dog tags and the wool braid.

"It's a present my sister gave to me. It was made from our family's sheep. I didn't want it to break as I went through training so I slathered it with omnigel to make a harden exterior and attached it to my dog tags."

"Omnigel. That stuff will do anything."

"Why are you awake, Thomas? We don't have to leave for little over half an hour."

"Too much sleep makes me groggy. I got enough. Any more insight into what is going on here, sir?"

"Not a clue. You?"

"I got nothing either."

"Hopefully, we'll find out when we get to the colony," Shepard said as he turned back toward the window.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…"

"Noted, Corporal."


	4. Chapter 3 To Hell in a Handbasket

**Chapter 3: To Hell in a Handbasket**

"Does anyone else feel that?" Garza asked the rest of the squad.

"Thank God I'm not the only one feeling that. I thought I was going insane," Carmine replied.

They were nearing the colony when the ground began to pulse in regular intervals. As they drew closer, the pulsing became stronger.

"This shaking isn't natural. It's too regular. Something is not right here, LT," Thomas stated.

"Agreed. I'm contacting Diaz," Shepard replied. "Staff Lieutenant Diaz, come in."

"What is it now, First?"

"These pulses aren't natural, sir. I suggest we pull back until we can discover what is causing them."

"Negative, Shepard. Clear your sector as planned. I have already tasked a team to figure out the pulses. They should be finding it soon. Now, stay off the com unless you have something important to report." Diaz abruptly shut off the channel.

"Ass," Garza said.

"Enough, marine," Thomas commanded.

"Sorry, Corporal, but Diaz is pissing me off. I think he just wants to make himself look good. That's the only reason he took command of this operation."

"Doesn't matter. We still have to follow orders regardless of our personal feelings." Thomas turned to Shepard. "Orders, sir?"

Shepard had been thinking about what to do during the exchange. Should he follow his orders and send his entire squad into a potentially hostile environment without intel, or should he fall back and possibly get court-martialed for insubordination? In the end, the marine in him won out.

"We head to the colony and try to figure out what happened here. We should be quick though. I don't want to stay here long. Garza, get us there."

"Aye aye, sir."

As they entered the colony, the squad began to hear the thumping as well as feel it. The device that was causing it must be close. As Garza led them through the streets, the squad saw battered and destroyed prefabs with similar scars as the one they found in the outskirts of the colony. One seemed to have been cut in half, the other side completely gone.

They entered a few of the houses that were intact enough to enter. They found more of the same evidence. Acid holes and pools of blood could be found in the houses as well as the streets. Yet there were no people or no bodies.

Garza finally broke the silence. "What the hell is going on here?"

"I have no idea. Let's finish this up and get out of here, LT," Carmine said.

"I agree with him, sir," McNeil stated flatly.

Shepard knew that if the situation made McNeil nervous enough to speak, it was best to get out of there quickly. "All right. We have one more street to check and then double time it back to the shuttles. If they want to court-martial me, let them."

As they rounded the corner, the squad saw a crater much bigger than the one they found next to the farm the day before. Carmine walked up to the edge in awe of its size.

"What the hell could have made this?" he asked.

Thomas was the first to answer. "I have no idea, but I don't want to stay around and find out."

After a few moments of searching the area, McNeil asked, "Sir, did you see that?"

Shepard saw that he was pointing in the direction of the plateau that protected one side of the colony. Shepard looked through his sniper scope in that general direction. "What did you see?"

"It was a reflection. Like something metal on the cliff side."

After some searching, Shepard found what McNeil had seen. "It looks like some kind of recording device. Why would anyone-"

The ground began to shake violently, cutting Shepard's question short. The team attempted to stay on their feet as the earth shifted underneath them. Carmine failed and fell into the crater.

"Carmine! Are you all right?!" Shepard yelled over the noise the rumbling was causing.

"Yeah! I'm fine! But it feels like something is com-"

Carmine never finished his sentence as a monstrosity emerged from the crater, throwing him over a hundred meters into the air.

"CARMINE!" Garza yelled.

The only response they heard was his screams as he started to come down. They ended abruptly with a sickening crunch as his body landed on the other side of the monster that towered over them.

Shepard looked up at the new behemoth. Never before had he seen anything like it. The thing had a bulbous head that ended with a gigantic square mouth. Each corner had a limb jutting from it, and a glowing, blue tongue-like appendage hung from the opening. On either side of the head, there were long, sickle-shaped claws that were folded as if, in a moment's notice, they could lash out and slice a man in half. It was terrifying.

"BACK TO THE SHUTTLE! NOW!" Shepard yelled over the gunfire that had begun.

The squad backpedalled as fast as they could why firing a consistent stream of bullets at the monster before them. Shepard saw it start an odd motion, almost as if it was going to throw up. He was right unfortunately as a green ball of liquid shot from its mouth toward Thomas and McNeil. It struck half a meter in front of them, and the green goo stuck on the two men, overloading their shields. Shepard witnessed smoke coming from their armor as the liquid began to eat away at it.

They screamed as the acid began to eat into their skin, forgetting about the monster in front of them. Shepard quickly overloaded their systems with medigel, hoping that it would keep them alive long enough for a rescue mission and that it would render them unconscious so they didn't have to feel the agony. They slumped to the ground, and Shepard prayed it was because they were unconscious, not dead.

"Shepard! My gun is overheating!" Garza yelled from behind him.

He waved her back. "Get the hell out of here, Private!"

Shepard turned back to see the monster convulse again. He sighted the beast down and found a white light just to the side of the mouth. Hoping it was the eye, Shepard fired and struck it cleanly. The monster roared and threw its head back, the acid shot shooting from its mouth into the air. Just before he turned to run, Shepard saw it retreating back into its burrow.

Shepard saw Garza in front of him and followed her as they raced toward the landing zone. They raced through the streets, listening to gunfire and screams coming from the other squads in the colony. Just as Garza was about to make it out of the colony, the ground erupted in front of her as a smaller beast revealed itself. She was thrown back along with some fusion cells that were set next to the prefab.

Shepard picked up her assault rifle and sprayed bullets at the soft tongue and eyes of the new creature. Realizing the small figure of fury in front of it wasn't about to give in, the monster retreated just as quickly as it had appeared.

Shepard tossed the gun aside as he knelt down to inspect Garza's condition. She was unconscious, but still breathing. He moved to pick her up and carry her back to the shuttle when he noticed a hissing sound. Shepard looked up to find that a fusion cell had sprung a leak and began emptying its explosive contents. He quickly tried to pick her and move before an explosion could happen. He wasn't fast enough.

The shockwave threw him back as he lost his grip on Garza. Shepard felt his face heat up as his protective helmet was torn from its seals and blown off. He felt his back strike a prefab, forcing the air from his lungs. He slumped as blackness invaded his vision.

* * *

><p>Shepard woke with a start. He tried to breathe in deep, remembering the panic that stemmed from having the wind knocked out of him, yet he was stopped by the painful protest from his multiple broken ribs. When he finally caught his breath, Shepard noticed something very odd. It was quiet: no sounds of gunfire, no yelling from marines, no blasting of engines, no roaring from the beasts. It seemed almost peaceful.<p>

Shepard searched for Garza, hoping that she had survived the blast like he did. He found her lying on the ground with her back towards him. He crawled to her and rolled her over. He swore silently to himself.

The shockwave had enough force to shatter the protective, clear covering that allowed the marines to see from their helmets. Shards of it were embedded deep into her face. Shepard realized that, because he was conscious and turned away, the blast ripped his helmet off instead of shattering the glass.

Shepard scowled at the sight only to find that it hurt immensely to do so. Pain radiated from the left side of his face. Shepard brought his hand up to investigate and found a wound that stretched from his left cheek bone just under the eye to just below the left side of his mouth. A scab had already formed, so he didn't bother to apply medigel. It was going to scar either way.

Shepard stood up from his fallen comrade and opened a channel to all squads. "This is First Lieutenant Shepard. Does anyone read me?"

No answer.

"I repeat. This is First Lieutenant Shepard. Does anyone read me?"

Again, he was met with silence.

Shepard was left with a choice: stay and search for survivors or take the shuttle to go get help. He decided that he would at least go check on Thomas and McNeil before he headed back to the shuttle. Hopefully they would have survived the attack like he did.

Shepard slowly walked to where they were first attacked. Each step was painful and slow. The movement shook his chest agonizingly, making his torso feel like a sack of broken sticks instead of a rib cage.

He rounded the last corner to the site where they first met the beasts. McNeil and Thomas still lying where they had fallen, motionless. As Shepard neared the two, he knew it was too late. The acid had eaten through both of their armor and worked into their bodies, exposing bone. He knelt down and checked their vitals to make sure they were gone.

When he found no signs of life, Shepard wordlessly stood up and walked toward the LZ. He took another root through the colony, looking for any marines that could have survived the attack, hoping that he wasn't the only one left standing again. He found several marines on his journey, but none that were alive.

Shepard began to give up hope in finding anyone left in this volunteer group as he neared the shuttle. He saw one last marine that fell only 50 meters from the shuttle and safety. Already battered, beaten, and burdened, Shepard wanted to just walk up to the shuttle and take off, leaving this death trap behind. But he knew that he couldn't do that. He knew that he had to check.

As he closed the distance between himself and the marine, Shepard noticed the curve of person's body. It was feminine. There were only two women on the shuttle that knew where this drop zone was.

_No. Please don't let it be her._

Shepard rolled over the marine to find Pvt. Holt's face behind the face shield. Her eyes were closed, and her face was relaxed. She seemed almost serene and peaceful, a stark contrast to the destruction and death around them. Shepard squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep a flood of memories about his platoon from washing over him.

Shepard swept his omnitool over her, checking her vitals. He saw the readings as they were scrolled before him. They were similar to the injuries that the other marines had suffered: burns, abrasions, and hemorrhages. Finally, the overview of the marine's condition came up. Shepard heard the surprise before he saw it.

"Beep, beep, beep, beep."

Shepard looked up at the read out to see that she had a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. He looked down at Holt to see her chest slowly rise and fall so slightly that it was hard to discern, but it was there. She was alive.

"Hold on, Holt. I'm getting you out of here. Don't you die on me now."

He slid one arm under her knees and around her back and lifted her. His chest screamed in protest and his muscles almost buckled by the extra weight, but Shepard did not care. He soldiered on, desperately trying to save at least one person today.

When he reached the shuttle, he opened the side hatch and laid Holt down on the medical gurney and strapped her in. He made his way to the cockpit and began prepping the shuttle for takeoff. As the engines were warming up, he opened a com channel to try to find anyone else before he left.

"This is First Lieutenant Shepard. Anyone, respond."

Again there was no answer. He took off and made a quick trip around the colony, looking for any movement. What he found was bodies littering the ground, fires burning from blown fuel sources, and prefabs suffering from new damages. Shepard saw that three shuttles still positioned where they had landed while the fourth had crashed into the main colony. He assumed that it was taken down as the marines inside attempted to escape. Holt and Shepard appeared to be the only survivors.


	5. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"First Lieutenant Shepard?"

Shepard opened his eyes to see the nurse hovering over him.

"You have a visitor," she said as the other person in the room approached the bed.

"Shepard."

"Admiral Hackett," he responded with a little surprise in his voice. Shepard did his best to sit up in his bed and salute one of the highest ranking officers in the Alliance military. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I came to debrief you in person, considering what you went through down there. Quite honestly, I'm amazed that you survived. You faced a foe we never knew existed. We asked around and found that they are called thresher maws. Their spores are actually launched into space until they land on a livable world. Usually there are no more than 1 or 2 on a whole planet, but you report seeing almost a dozen."

"I'm sorry I couldn't get an accurate count, sir. But there seem to be in different stages of life. We first met a monster that stood almost 3 stories tall. The second one I saw was only a little over six feet."

"That is interesting. We'll talk more with the Council scientists to see what we can dig up."

"Did you find that recording equipment that I found on the ridge?"

Admiral Hackett shook his head. "We didn't find anything up there when we looked into it."

Shepard looked down at the end of the bed, trying to figure out what could have happened to the equipment he saw. Hackett broke his concentration.

"I have another reason for coming here in person."

Shepard looked up at the Admiral, giving him his full attention.

"You are officially invited to join the N7 training program, Staff Lieutenant."

Shepard stared hard at the Admiral. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted."

"I can somewhat understand being asked to join the N7's, but getting promoted? I lost almost 50 marines on Akuze, most from my own platoon. I watched one of my best friends get dragged into a hole on a recovered hard suit vid! That doesn't sound like leadership material to me. I deserve to get demoted for losing so many amazing men and women."

"Shepard, none of that was your fault. Diaz was a glory hound. We got the recording of the mission off your hard suit. If he would have listen to you, many more marines would have gotten out alive. It was his fault, Staff Lieutenant, not yours."

"I still don't feel like I deserve this, sir."

"Which is exactly why you've earned it. You don't try to make yourself look good. You do what is best for your squad while getting the job done. That's what a leader should do."

Shepard dropped his gaze and stared at the end of his bed. "I need time to think about it, sir."

"Of course. I wasn't expecting an answer from you right away. I'll leave you to think it over."

Just before Admiral Hackett left the small hospital room, Shepard asked, "Sir, have you heard any news about Pvt. Holt?"

The question stopped Hackett dead in his tracks. "I'm sorry, son. She didn't make it."

Shepard lay back down on his bed as thoughts swirled around in his head. He couldn't save anyone that went with him. He was the only survivor from the disaster on Akuze, just like Mindoir. Again he was alone.


End file.
